Lockdown
by JackSparrowsBooty
Summary: Frank and Joe hesitantly accept a case involving a missing teenager who fell through the cracks in the juvenile justice system and is considered a "fugitive." His sister insists that he is missing and in danger. Can the boys find him alive?


Lockdown

A/N: I'm attempting a Hardy Boys fic, and it's pretty experimental but I have a plot in mind that I think is pretty awesome. I'm still up in the air about whether or not to bring Nancy Drew into the picture. This fic may advance to a 'T' rating because of language and characters in peril, but it probably won't be any worse than that.

* * *

Joe Hardy, a handsome blond youth, threw a sardonic glance at his brother, Frank's direction, whose dark hair and serious expression couldn't have been more opposite of his. "You can't be serious," the seventeen year old said in a dramatic manner as he threw his weathered basketball into the air only for his brother to swipe it from the path to the basket and make his own score.

"I'm very serious. Why is that so hard to believe? Don't you think that the volunteer spirit is important?"

Joe scoffed, retrieving the ball before it had the chance to bounce away. "Well of course I do. But don't you agree that you have enough going on in your life to be thinking about babysitting a bunch of bratty teenagers in the JDH?"

Frank shook his dark brown head. "I told you this already. I'll be participating in groups teaching kids social skills, anger management, and ways to better utilize their emotions by teaching them how to channel it creatively. One of my ideas was helping the youth begin journal or poetry writing. Maybe teach them to express themselves with art."

"What?" Joe smirked, running circles around Frank before sinking the ball into the basket above him, which had long since lost its net and was now merely a metal rim. "What's your preference—macramé or cross-stitch? You going to teach a bunch of criminals how to glue macaroni noodles to construction paper?"

"Oh, ha ha," Frank muttered. "I'm glad you find humor in this. It's more than just arts and crafts groups, smarty. I'll be shadowing staff in daily activities and joining the board for level petitioning. It's a great way to get to know the other side of the criminal justice system. We have a pretty one-dimensional view of the law. I thought it'd be a good learning experience to see it in a different perspective."

Joe paused, sobering for a moment. "Aren't you worried about someone recognizing you?"

Frank shrugged. "The facility is located in Hauppauge, but even if I do run into someone I know, then I'll have a full staff to protect me."

"I don't know. It seems kind of risky." Joe bent down and grabbed his water bottle and took heavy gulps of it, then wiped his mouth on his arm sloppily.

"Since when have you ever worried about taking risks?" Frank raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you didn't go for this yourself."

"I care about taking risks!" his younger brother said with a mock-pained expression on his face. "You assume that you are the only one in this family who is careful and uses his head in sticky situations. Underneath all this brawn is indeed a little bit of brain, dear brother."

"Just a little, huh?" Frank laughed.

Joe's blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "Yeah. Now let's go inside. I'm starving!"

* * *

"Joe?" came a small, mousey voice to the right of the younger Hardy, who was busily shoving his previous class' textbooks into his locker and snatching up his geometry book with an air of haste. He was running late and the bell was going to ring in any second. One more tardy for this period in particular meant an hour in after-school detention. Mr. Knight wasn't too fond of Joe's utter inability to show up before the beginning of his lecture. It wasn't like he enjoyed the pressure of eating a half-hour lunch on the other side of the school, seeing Vanessa Bender, his long-time girlfriend off to her early childhood development class, only to book it through the halls in order to make sure he was in his seat before Knight locked out any unfortunate truants.

He peered around the locker door curiously, meeting the gaze of a young woman with striking ice blue eyes and dark brown hair. He didn't recognize her immediately, so he cast her a lopsided smirk. "Hi." He continued his movements by shoving the book into his backpack. He expected her to breeze past him, but she remained perched at his side. He stopped, smiling again. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, actually yes. I was wondering…I mean, I wanted to ask you and your brother for help." she chewed on a pouty bottom lip, seeming nervous.

Joe caught onto her anxious cues, but felt the clock ticking closer to the bell, and he couldn't stop himself from glancing at his watch. She faltered visibly, reacting as though he'd coldly dismissed her, then stepped back slightly.

She shook her head, hugging her thin chest. "I'm...I'm sorry to bother you. Never mind."

Joe reached out quickly, grabbing her shoulder. "Whoa, wait a minute. Don't run off just yet. I didn't mean to insult you. I'm just in a late to class, yet again. It's not your fault! I'd be happy to help you if you need it."

She sighed, a heavy burden hanging onto her chest. "Yes, I do need your help. Joe, you and Frank are my last hope."

He frowned in concern. "What's your name?"

"Miranda Riley. I'm in Vanessa's French class. She said that you and your brother sometimes take matters into your own hands when the police aren't any good to an investigation."

"We do from time to time. Frank and I kind of jumped on my dad's bandwagon with private investigation. But, I'll do my best. Can me and Frank stop by your house after school? It'll be better to discuss matters there rather than at school. More privacy."

Miranda nodded after hesitating briefly. "Yeah, I think that won't be too much of a problem. My foster parents will want to meet you before you come in, though."

Joe's eyes narrowed at her response and he swept a discerning gaze over the girl as if really noticing her for the first time. She was small, petite, and timid—looking very cautious and hesitant. Someone who was very unlikely to speak to a stranger no less ask for help from one. He felt himself sympathizing with the girl and how complicated her life must be living in a foster home and being away from her mother and father. This was something he couldn't even fathom. After a quick moment of introspection, his mouth quirked up into a friendly grin. "I'll see you after school, Miranda."

"Thanks so much, Joe!" she said, just as the bell shrieked to life. He sagged over miserably.

"See you soon!" he called over his shoulder. _If he wasn't already in detention at that time._

* * *

Later on, Frank and Joe were standing in Miranda's foster home living room. The girl had greeted them with enthusiasm and had offered them some hot cocoa and cookies, but when the two had taken a seat, her face grew dim with the kind of despair of someone carrying the oppressive weight of personal anguish.

"So what can we do for you, Miranda?" Frank asked.

"You have to help me find my brother!" she said breathlessly. "He's missing and no one will help me find him!"

Frank watched Joe instantly soften, but he knew that pretty girls in desperate need were the younger Hardy's weakness. He could never ignore or say no when asked by a young woman, especially an attractive one.

Joe leaned in, concerned. "How long has he been missing?"

She breathed a sigh. "I haven't heard from him in three months. No phone calls, no letters. It's like he just fell off the face of the earth!"

Frank frowned. "Did you file a missing persons report with the police?"

Miranda turned away, suddenly appearing troubled.

Joe glanced at his brother, who shared a look of surprise at the girl's unexpected change in behavior. "Miranda, what is it?"

She hugged her elbows, a gesture that looked entirely self-soothing. She was deeply troubled. "The police will not be of use here, trust me."

The two narrowed their eyes. "Why?" Frank asked, thoroughly puzzled.

"Because in the eyes of the law, Tobey is a wanted fugitive!"

"What?" the Hardy boys barked, taken completely aback.

She faced the brothers finally. "I know how it sounds, but something has happened to him, and there is no way that he could have simply slipped out of sight while in a high-security jail and disappeared. That just does not happen."

"Why was he in jail?" Frank asked, suddenly less alarmed and more serious.

Miranda shook her head. "He was on court supervision for a drug charge and he violated the conditions of his probation before he turned eighteen by failing to show up to a visit with his counselor. The judge turned him over to the adult court system and then transferred him out of the Suffolk County Juvenile Detention Center to an adult jail. The last time I ever talked to him was when he was still in Hauppauge."

Joe thought for a moment, and then responded carefully. "Miranda, you said he's a wanted fugitive. So he escaped from the Suffolk County Correctional Facility?"

"Yes, according to the police. They've interviewed me several times demanding to know where he is, but I swear to everything I love that I do not know his whereabouts!"

Frank shook his head disdainfully. "I don't think we'll be able to help you."

Miranda's face fell. "Why not?"

"If he is in trouble with the law, then it's likely that he's just hiding out. Probably with some drug buddies, especially since they certainly don't like receiving any attention from the police."

Miranda grabbed Joe's arm. "Please, you must understand!" she said desperately. "I know something is wrong here!"

"How?" the younger Hardy asked. "How do you know he is in trouble?"

"When I came to visit him in the adult jail, they never let me see him! They always had an excuse to turn me away. My caseworker said I was allowed visits and every single time before his supposed escape they'd tell me he was in solitary confinement or the place was on lockdown. I never saw him while he was there. The last time I saw my brother was back in August at the juvenile detention center!"

Frank remained unmoved. "That doesn't mean he's missing."

She turned to Joe, realizing her best chance at winning them over was with him. "The last letter he wrote to me was in August and it sounded awful. He was terrified of something but wouldn't tell me what because he was convinced that the officers read all of his mail and he'd get in trouble. The last visit he looked like a completely different person. He was pale and skinny like he'd not eaten anything for days!"

Joe felt immense compassion for Miranda, despite his brother's almost abrasive stiltedness. However, he had to concur with Frank's skepticism. From what the girl had told him before their visit, the Riley siblings came from a broken home with a non-existent father and a drug-addicted mother who spent her days loaded on whatever she could get her hands on or gambling away the money she made from her pitiful waitressing job at a diner. The woman couldn't even stay clean long enough to fight to get her kids back. Miranda and Tobey had remained in the system for close to a decade, and had bounced from foster home to foster home in the meantime. Tobey and Miranda had been fortunate to find a place that allowed them to be together, but this left the boy the task of trying to be a role model and parent to his younger sister.

The girl had professed that her brother had only gotten into drugs about a year prior when he was just seventeen, and much of his criminality was attributed to this. With so much mounting on the kid's shoulders, Joe wouldn't blame Tobey for wanting to find a way to escape such a tumultuous life. Living in these conditions put the kid at a much higher risk for criminal misconduct, so Joe understood his older brother's trepidation.

"Miranda, take no offense, but it wouldn't be the first time that someone in the system decided to escape from jail and disappear," Joe said carefully, his eyes soft. "Tobey's had a rough life and by your own admission struggles with an addiction to meth. He probably took off for that very reason and is too ashamed to return to you."

The girl shook her dark brown head vehemently. "No, he would never walk away from his responsibility! I swear to you, Joe, even when he was on drugs he made sure I was taken care of!" Tears began to slip down her cheeks, and the younger Hardy could no longer resist the urge to offer his help.

Joe squeezed her shoulder, and then turned to Frank, who was frowning in sympathy. "Frank," he said.

Frank nodded, scraping his dark brown hair back with his fingers. "All right, Miranda. We'll look into it. But we're going to need to know his entire history with the juvenile and adult justice systems. Every detail, even the ugly stuff."

She agreed, swiping the tear tracks from her face. "No problem. Thank you so much, you guys." The boys watched her disappear into one of the back bedrooms that Tobey had inhabited while in foster care, and when she was out of earshot, Frank sighed.

"I don't know why, Joe, but I just feel like this kid took off to get away from his problems and responsibility. Maybe it was just too much of a burden to bear."

The younger Hardy set his mouth in a firm line of frustration. "We already agreed to help Miranda find her brother, Frank. We can't back out now."

"Oh, we'll help her find Tobey, but I hope she's prepared for whatever comes her way."

Miranda returned with a large manila envelope packed with what appeared to be paperwork. "This is pretty much everything that his attorney sent to him. Some of it is from our caseworker, and a few pages are from the juvenile detention center that he stayed at before being transferred to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility. I've also put the last few letters he sent me in there. You'll see how much he changes in just that short amount of time."

Frank accepted the envelope, and then clasped her hand gently. "Joe and I are going to go over the details, and then we'll give you a call, all right? We'll find your brother, I promise."

"Thank you, guys!" she said gratefully.

"You're welcome, Miranda," Joe said as the two brothers exited the Hogan's house. He looked at the older Hardy boy. "Let's get to work," he muttered as they climbed into their van and took off for home.

* * *

Feedback is appreciated!


End file.
